1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a network printing system, a management server and a control method therefor, and a computer-readable medium and, more particularly, to a technique of displaying a map representing the positional relationship between a client computer and an image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Against the backdrop of recent short supply of electricity, the trend toward energy consumption reductions is expected to continue also into the future. Under this environment, a building or office where a number of image forming apparatuses exist may experience a situation in which only a minimum number of image forming apparatuses are used (started).
Additionally, in an environment such as a free address environment where the location of work changes every time, a nearby image forming apparatus (optimum output device) is preferably automatically selected without user selection.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-28347 discloses a network printing system formed from a client computer and an image forming apparatus (MFP) which can communicate with lighting equipment using visible light. Even if the relative positional relationship between the client computer and the image forming apparatus has changed, the area where the client computer is arranged and the area where the image forming apparatus is arranged can be specified based on the lighting equipment. In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-28347, before execution of printing, the client computer receives a list of MFPs existing in a nearby area from a server and displays the list, thereby allowing the user to select a desired MFP.
In the system described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-28347, however, the list of nearby image forming apparatuses (MFPs) is presented to the user so that he/she can easily select an image forming apparatus before execution of printing. In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-28347, the area where the image forming apparatus is arranged can be specified based on the position of the lighting equipment. However, it is impossible to specify the detailed position of the apparatus. Additionally, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-28347, the list of MFPs is displayed to cause the user to do selection before execution of printing. Hence, the user cannot confirm after printing to which MFP he/she has issued the print instruction.
In an environment where start of an image forming apparatus is restricted or an environment where printing is executed without user's selection of an image forming apparatus, the user cannot know which image forming apparatus has printed. For this reason, the user visually searches for the image forming apparatus that has printed and output, requiring time to collect the output product.